OOP: Mysteries explained, my theories

[Diana]

No: HPFGUIDX 61969

I've not managed to get through every post about OOP since the board 
has re-opened, but I just had to put some of my theories and 
thoughts into the mix after reading several posts asking the same 
questions - questions I might have the answer to.  If other posters 
have answered these, sorry for the duplication.

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!

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First: The Department of Mysteries contained exactly what the name 
inplies.  The room with the brains - that was the mystery of human 
thoughts (perhaps even the mystery of the human brain itself).  The 
room with the hatching and rehatching bird under the glass dome plus 
the destroyed/repaired cabinet full of time-turners was obviously 
the mystery of time itself.  Which brings me to the room with the 
veiled archway.  As other posters have pointed out, many poets and 
authors throughout history have referred to death as 'passing 
through a veil" or "the veil of death".  I think that archway and 
it's veil was the physical manifestation (maybe even actually 
created and contained by the wizards for purposes of study) of death 
itself; meaning the room was about the mystery of death itself.  
   I don't believe that the curse that hit Sirius killed him -
perhaps without treatment it might have been injured severely enough 
to eventually kill him, but what killed Sirius was falling through 
the, in this case, quite literal, veil of death.  Sirius IS DEAD 
because he fell through the physical barrier that actually separates 
life from death.   He won't be a ghost because he didn't expect to 
die and even if he had had a split-second, mental choice before he 
fell through the veil, didn't choose to continue on a ghost. 
According to what Nearly Headless Nick said to Harry near the end of 
the book, Sirius would have had to choose to continue on as a ghost, 
and he apparently did not choose that path.  
   Which brings me to my next observation about why some of the DA 
group, Harry especially, was transfixed by the archway.  Harry was 
within feet of actual death - a position Harry has been in before 
(in PS/SS with Quirrelmort, with the basilisk in CoS, in the 
graveyard with Voldemort in GoF).  He has escaped death many times, 
but I get the impression that death may hold a certain appeal to 
Harry.  He doesn't really want to die, obviously, but I think his 
hard life has been wearying him more than he'll ever admit or anyone 
else will ever know.  His raging rant to Dumbledore at the end 
about 'wanting it all to end" and "I've had enough" express his 
feelings precisely, IMHO.  Sadly, things are only to get more hairy 
for Harry (no pun intended) as the books progress.  
  Harry was being 'seduced' in a way by the archway.  Hermione, 
perhaps instinctually, realized the danger, the siren-call, if you 
will, of this archway a.k.a. death and rushed everyone out of there 
in a hurry.  Only Harry and Luna could hear the voices (and maybe 
even Neville as well if he'd been close enough to the archway), 
which was due to the fact that they'd both seen death up 
close.       

Second: The prophecy. Several posters have asked what the point of 
the prophecy was, and, at first, I was asking the same thing.  How 
can knowing the exact wording of the prophecy even help, let alone 
be a weapon for, Voldemort?  Well, after some serious pondering, I 
think I may now know.  Looking back on Harry's encounters with 
Voldemort previously, Harry has repeatedly triumphed over Voldemort, 
even at the age of one-year-old.  Voldemort, still stinging over 
Harry's winning against him in their duel in the graveyard the 
previous June, would obviously begin to wonder why he can't seem to 
kill this boy no matter how hard he tries.  
  Here is the prophecy in full, to augment my next comments:  "The 
one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to 
those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month 
dies....And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will 
have power the Dark Lord knows not...And either must die at the hand 
of other for neither can live while the other survives...The one 
with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh 
month dies..."  
  As Dumbledore tells Harry, Voldemort only heard the first two 
lines of the prophecy.  Without all of the info, he then made a 
major error by ensuring the prophecy (which is a paradox, but more 
on that later) to be true by trying to kill Harry when Harry was a 
baby.  Voldemort gave Harry some of his power (i.e. parseltongue, a 
mental connection between them which Harry has used to unwittingly 
spy on Voldemort, probably other things too) and the prophesized 
mark - his scar.  Voldemort helped create an enemy capable of 
destroying him with that failed curse on Harry.  The prophecy is 
indeed a paradox - Voldemort would not have attacked Harry if the 
prophecy of a wizard being born who could defeat him hadn't occured 
in the first place.  The prophecy is a closed loop - the prophecy 
must be told so Voldemort hears some of it and attacks Harry, Harry 
must be marked by Voldemort so he can gain some of his power and be 
recognized (and subsequently protected from Voldemort) by other 
wizards who wish to defeat Voldemort.  The mere fact the prophecy 
exists helps fufill itself.  
   Now, how can hearing the entire prophecy help Voldemort?  Well, 
Voldemort would know that Harry is capable of dying at his hands - 
in fact, he would know that either Harry must die at his hands or 
Harry will kill him instead.  Up to this point, Voldemort is 
extremely bewildered as to why all his efforts to kill a child have 
failed.  I'm sure he's beginning to wonder exactly what that 
prophecy said about his and Harry's fate being intertwined.  If 
Voldemort knew the exact wording of the prophecy, he would hunt down 
Harry and kill him as fast as he possibly could, because he would 
know he CAN kill him.  Voldemort doesn't know at this point that his 
first effort actually started the prophecy paradox loop.  He would 
also know that Harry's vanquishing of him is not aboslute - that it 
could go either way - that Voldemort could end up the winner in 
their ultimate showdown.  He would risk everything, sacrifice every 
Death Eater and supporter he could just to get Harry in front of him 
to kill him (perhaps foregoing magic and just strangling him with 
his bare hands, even).  Voldemort would become the terminator and 
not stop until Harry (or himself was dead).  Dumbledore may be very 
powerful, but he is just one man.  Dumbledore knows that he would 
lose most of the Order and probably a vast chunk of the population 
of the wizarding world if Voldemort set out to kill Harry at all 
costs.  Voldemort's elaborate (and always failed) plans to snatch 
Harry spetacularly out from under Dumbledore's nose (to show off, in 
other words) would end and it would result in Harry going into 
hiding and not leading even a remotely normal life because all 
Voldemort's suble, elegant plans would be turned into 'find the boy 
right now and bring him to me'.  Voldemort may even believe there 
are more details in the prophecy than they're really are -such as 
time and/or place of his own defeat at Harry's hands.  If Voldemort 
found out how simple the prophecy was (yeah, yeah, paradoxical 
prophecies aren't simple), I could see him going so far as to resort 
to hiring muggle criminals to kidnap Harry from his Privet Drive or 
the Hogwarts Express and killing him as soon as he saw him being 
dragged toward him.  After all, we know Voldemort himself can't 
touch Harry while he's at Privet Drive, but we don't know if 
ordinary muggles or wizards working for Voldemort can't touch him 
there.  
   Luckily, Voldemort can't extract the prophecy from Trelawny 
because she won't remember giving it.  I know she doesn't remember 
giving it because she didn't remember giving the prophecy about 
Wormtail returning to Voldemort after she told Harry.   The others 
in the Hog's Head who might have heard the prophecy have either told 
Voldemort all they know or died or will never tell or didn't hear 
anything at all.  The only ones who know the prophecy, Dumbledore 
and the Order of the Phoenix, aren't going to tell him, and Harry 
certainly won't either.  So, the record of the prophecy being 
destroyed is a VERY good thing for Harry.  

Third:  As for the Marauder's Map being returned to Harry, that was 
not explained, but I can definitely see Dumbledore giving it back to 
him.  Dumbledore knows Harry is in the crosshairs of the most evil 
wizard ever, so having a map that tells him who's in his proximity 
will be a distinct advantage.  And it would prevent another imposter 
like Barty Crouch Jr. as Fake!Moody from getting so dangerously 
close to Harry.  The Marauder's Map never lies, remember.  I would 
even go so far as to say that Dumbledore may even regard the 
Marauder's Map as like the invisibility cloak - a possession he 
should rightfully inheirit from his father.   

Fourth:  Harry seeing the thestrals the first time, presumably 
because he witnessed Cedric's death at the end of GoF is being 
brought up a possible flint or hint that Harry didn't see his 
parents die.  A friend of mine brought up a good point, though.  
Perhaps, a person can only see the thestrals if they have seen death 
AND they can conciously remember that death.  Harry doesn't remember 
his parents or their death in his concious memories.  We know from 
his encounters with the dementors, that somewhere deep in Harry's 
subconcious he does remember what happened - even what his parent's 
last words were.  However, at the age of one, Harry wouldn't have 
realized that his mother, when she fell over dead WAS dead.  One-
year-olds have no concept of death.  Neville conciously remembers 
his grandfather's death.  Luna was nine when her mother died.  
Hagrid can see them I presume because he saw his father die when 
Hagrid was twelve?  Maybe the person who witnessed the death must 
have had understood and be capable of remembering the death when it 
occured for them to see the thestrals.  I have a bad feeling that 
Ron and Hermione may be able to see the thestrals by the end of book 
7.      

Mindy CL wrote:
>>* This major question really baffles me: In the scuffle in 
Umbridge's room, it says clearly that MALFOY POCKETED HARRY'S WAND. 
A page later, Hermione is terrified of them going into the forest 
without the wands.  Yet, a scant few pages later, Harry casually 
finds his wand in his pocket when he gets to the MoM... how the hck 
did the wand get to him if it was still in Malfoys pocket? There is 
no storyline of him accessing it somehow....<<

Answer: Ron gave back Harry his wand in the forest when Ginny, Luna, 
Neville and Ron caught up to Harry and Hermione.  The others left 
behind in Umbridge's office overthrew Malfoy and his cronies and 
stole back Hermione's and Harry's wands.

>>Instead of [saying anything, Harry] just let an enormous tide of 
misunderstanding and ill will rise against him all year, which made 
life so tough for him, until wise Hermione finally took matters into 
her own hands...<<

Answer: Harry didn't give the Quibbler an interview earlier because 
until he saw it in the train on the way to Hogwarts, he didn't know 
such a publication existed.  Harry also didn't know that the Daily 
Prophet was making nasty comments about him all summer as he'd only 
been scanning the front page headlines to look for news of 
Voldemort's return.  Hermione would not have thought to goad Harry 
into giving an interview to anyone much earlier in the year as she 
was following the Order's instructions to keep quiet to protect 
Harry.  Hermione's desire to get Harry's true story of the return of 
Voldemort published and out into the world comes about because of 
the escape of Voldemort's most devoted Death Eaters from Azkaban.  
Hermione, along with Harry, of course, want to warn all wizards that 
they are in danger.  They know that the disparaging comments made by 
the Daily Prophet and Fudge will mean that some won't believe him, 
but they have to at least try, don't they?  And Umbridge plays right 
into their plans by banning the magazine because of Harry's 
interview.  [I wish we had gotten to read the interview Harry gave, 
don't you?]  The students of Hogwarts clamour to read the article 
simply BECAUSE it is banned by Umbridge.  And these kids are smart - 
if Umbridge doesn't want them to read it, then the information must 
be dangerous to her and/or the Ministry - perhaps even TRUE!  Harry 
and Hermione really made a huge leap of faith with that interview 
and they were rewarded beyond their expectations.    

Mindy CL wrote:
>>Why in heaven's name did DD let VM go right there at the duel in 
the lobby of the MoM? Just let him go like that??... arghhh. He 
should've told Harry to finish him off right then and there, since 
one of them has to survive and one of them has to die...<<

Answer:  Dumbledore had to let Voldemort escape.  The only 
alternative was to kill Harry along with Voldemort.  Voldemort had 
wrapped himself around Harry, even going to so far as to possess 
Harry to a certain extent.  It is unclear whether Voldemort 
transformed into something else when he 'coiled' himself around 
Harry, but I think Voldemort became a snake, perhaps not an animagus 
snake, but some other kind of spell.  Harry couldn't have killed 
Voldemort for Dumbledore at that moment because Harry was suffering 
greatly, possibly even on the verge of dying himself because of 
Voldemort's possession of him and the effect this extremely close 
physical and mental contact was having on his scar.  Voldemort 
figured that if he couldn't get away, he might as well take Harry 
with him to the grave, and make Dumbledore guilty for Harry's death 
at the same time.  But Voldemort didn't count on Harry's heart 
filling with compassion, love, grief, just emotions in general.  
Voldemort didn't like feeling those things while merged with Harry 
and so he had to let him go and he escaped (disapparted, probably) 
when the hall filled with enough people to distract Dumbledore 
enough to let him get away.

As for how Sirius and other Order members, six teenagers, numerable 
Death Eaters, and Voldemort could get into the Ministry of Magic, 
and inside the top secret Department of Mysteries without being 
stopped, well, I can only guess on that front.  My first guess is 
that any guards (OOP members or otherwise) were killed or silenced 
by the Death Eaters, who arrived first.  Since Malfoy goes to the 
Ministry all the time, it would not be a surprise to ministry 
personnel if he arrived there in the middle of the night and was let 
in without question.  Since Harry and the others arrived after 
Malfoy and his group, there would be no guards to stop them.  And 
there would be no guards, subsequently, to stop the members of the 
Order of the Phoenix, either.  By the time Voldemort showed up, the 
ministry was in disarray and escaped convict Bellatrix Lestrange was 
standing in the lobby attempting to kill Harry without any 
interference whatsoever, so I guess old Voldie thought it was 
perfectly safe to show up.  Also, Fudge's manical desire to pretend 
Voldemort wasn't back would probably extend so far as to purposely 
NOT post any guards so that the wizarding world wouldn't interpret 
that as a sign something was wrong and that the danger was back.  
Remember, the Order members were taking turns guarding the door to 
the Department of Mysteries on their own accord, implying the 
ministry doesn't post guards in front of that door on a regular 
basis.  The only door guard the Ministry itself might have provided 
could have been spells on the doors, but the Death Eaters would have 
been able to get rid of those pretty easily most likely.  And they 
had to leave the doors available for Harry to get through so Harry 
could get the prophecy orb down off the shelf.  

Finally, a word about Sirius' death and why he died... I was 
surprised at the death of Sirius as well, but then it occured to me 
WHY Sirius died.  Because Sirius, whether he meant to be or not, was 
a great danger to Harry. Sirius proved to be a powerful weapon 
Voldemort could use against Harry to get him to do whatever he 
wanted him to do - like break into the Ministry of Magic in the 
middle of the night with five other teenagers knowing he'd be facing 
Voldemort head on, for instance?  Sirius, as given in lots of 
passages in the previous books, WAS reckless and arrogant.  Sure, 
that made his character interesting and alternately impressed and 
annoyed Harry a great deal sometimes, but it might have gotten Harry 
killed.  If Sirius had lived, Voldemort would have used him again to 
bring about Harry's destruction.  Voldemort would know that he'd 
only need to really capture Sirius and Harry would run headlong into 
danger to save him, no matter the cost.  And if Harry was prevented 
from saving Sirius by Dumbledore or others, or realized the trick 
and didn't fall for it - Voldemort would have killed Sirius in 
revenge anyway because he wouldn't have been useful to him anymore. 
   Harry cares for Hermione and Ron a great deal and would rush into 
to danger to save them as well, but, unlike Sirius, Ron and Hermione 
are protected by Dumbledore ten months out of the year.  I fear for 
Hermione at home with her Muggle parents during the summer in future 
books - because Voldemort is going to be casting about for a new 
weapon to use against Harry, and Hermione might be just what he's 
looking for.  Ron is a bit better protected because he lives with a 
family of wizards, but he's not completely out of danger either.  
   The reason JKR might have said this death was crucial to the 
overall story (I'm going by another's post stating she said this in 
an interview) is because without the death of Sirius, Harry may have 
died instead either sooner or later BECAUSE of Sirius.  Harry cares, 
and while it's his strength, it is also his weakness where Sirius 
(and probably others, as we'll find out in future books) is 
concerned.  It will be extremely wrenching for Harry, but his love 
for his godfather may have resulted in Voldemort winning in the end 
if Sirius hadn't died.  Sirius would have preferred to die than be 
responsible for Harry's death because of Harry's attempt to save 
him.  Sadly, like many heroes in many stories, the hero's loved ones 
are always first in line to die in the battle against evil simply 
because the hero loves them, whether as friend, spouse, child or 
parent.  So, while I will miss Sirius, I acknowledge that his death 
has left Voldemort without his most valuable weapon against Harry.  
And that is a good thing coming out of something very bad. 

I would love to hear other posters opinions of these mysteries.

Diana L.